Rolling mill



Feb. 16, 1943. J. M. O'MALLEY ROLLING MILL' Filed March 5, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 u IYN Tv wv m Nm bm, www W Nm@ mb, om

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J. M. OYMALLEY ROLLING MILL Filed March 5, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 JNVENTOR JOSEPH M. OMALLEY SYM ATTORNEY 'Patented Feb. 1e, 1943 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE y 2.311.015 nomme Mm.

Joseph M. OMalley, Worcester, Mass., assignor to Morgan Construction Company, Worcester, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application March 5, 1940, Serial No. 322,331

(Cl. 80h54) 3 Claims.

This invention relates to rolling mills, and more particularly to the construction and arrangement of vertical'mills adapted to form a part of a continuous mill for the rolling of metal bars, rods and the like.

It is one object of the invention to provldea vertical mill having a simple, compact and dependable mechanism for driving the rolls Without interfering with the adjustment of the rolls as desired.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a vertical mill in which the rolls are firmly and rigidly supported against the rolling pressure, and in which provision is made for adjusting the spacing of the rolls as well as the position of the pass line of the mill.

With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in the speciiication and covered by the claims appended hereto.

Referring to the drawings illustrating` one embodiment of the invention and in which like ref- Aerence numerals indicate like parts,

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through a rolling mill, the section being taken on the line I-I of Fig. 3:

Fig.` 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the rolling mill; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary elevation taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Ihe embodiment illustrated comprises a housing I in the form of a hollow casing open at the top and enclosing in its upper portion two laterally opposed bearing chocks I I. Each chock serves to support a vertical roll I2 having an upper roll neck I4 and a lower roll neck I5 rotatably mounted in upper and lower bearings I6 and Il respectively in the chocks. The rolls are provided with circumferential grooves I9 which are shaped in accordance with the cross section desired for the stock. Each chock II is provided with a pair of oppositely projecting lugs 20 which overlie the adjacent side walls of the housing I0, as shown in Figs. 2 to 4. The lower surfaces of these lugs are slightly inclined and they rest upon wedges 2I which in turn are supportedupon the housing. Each wedge is provided with an upwardly projecting ear 22 through which a stud 24 extends into the adjacent lug 20, each stud having a pair of nuts 25 thereon located upon opposite sides of the ear. The lugs and wedges are provided with elongated openings through which vertical studs 21 extend into the housing I8-.therebeneath, these studs having nuts 28 on their upper ends to hold the lugs iirmly down upon the wedges. It will be apparent that the wedges 2i provide means whereby the chocks II may be raised or lowered independently, not only to bring the grooves I9 into proper registration but also to effect alignment of the grooves with the pass line of an adjacent roll stand.

The chocks Il are independently adjustable horizontally in the plane of the roll axes, and for this purpose each chock is engagedby a pair of horizontal screws 30 extending through nuts 3| mounted in the end walls of the housing I0. The four screws are all mounted in the vertical plane deiined by the axes of the rolls. Lock nuts 32 are provided on the screws to retain them in a desired position of adjustment. In order that the two screws in each pair can be adjusted in unison, gears 34 are mounted on the outer ends of the screws, and a gear 35 is provided between each pair of gears 34 and in mesh therewith.

Each gear 35 is mounted on a horizontal stud 36- l carried by the housing. It will be apparent that the chocks I I will be forced apart by the pressure exerted by the stock against the rolls, and that the screws 3l) will support the chocks in opposition to this pressure. By rotating one ofthe screws 30 a similar rotation will be imparted to the other screw of the same pair through the connecting gears, and the corresponding chock II will be adjusted accordingly in a horizontal direction In order that the pass line of the mill may be shifted horizontally to bring it into alignment with a particular set of roll grooves in an adjacent horizontal mill, means is provided to move the entire housing I0 in a lateral direction. For this purpose there is provided a frame 38 shaped as a hollow rectangular structure which surrounds a shallow open pit 39 in the foundation 40. The lower portion of the housing I0 is mounted within the frame 38 and extends downwardly therethrough into the pit 39. Flanges 42 extend laterally from opposite sides of the housing and rest upon the upper edges of the side walls of the frame, as shown in Fig. 2, these Walls forming rails along which the housing may slide.` .A horizontal screw 44 is supported in athrust bearing 45 (Fig. 1) 'in one -end wall of the frame, and extends -through a nut 46 secured to the adjacent end of the housing. The screw 44 can be rotated, either manually or by any suitable source of power, to eiect the desired horizontal sliding movement of the housing I0.

The construction ofthe driving mechanism for the rolls is best shown in Fig. 1. Beneath each roll and in substantial alignment therewith I have provided a vertical hollow shaft or quill 4d which is rotatably mounted in an upper bearing 49 and a lower bearing 50, these bearings being supported in the housing I0. The upper bearings 49 are s urmounted by a cap member 52 apertured for the upper ends of the quills 4l and provided with'upwardly extending annular flanges 53 coaxial with the quills. Each lower roll neck i5 is formed with a downward extension 55 which is externally screw-threaded to receive a coupling member or sleeve 56 having an annular skirt 51 projecting downwardly therefrom in surrounding relationship to the corresponding flange 53. Within the lower end of each quill 4l there is mounted a coupling member which is operatively connected to thecorrespondirrg upper coupling member 5E by .means of an upright spindle 60 extending through the quill. Universal connections are provided between the ends of the spindles and the adjacent coupling members, and for this purpose the spindle ends are enlarged and formed with external gear teeth 8i which engage internal gear teeth on the coupling members, in the manner disclosed in the patent to Morgan No. 2,136,947 granted Novemberl, 1938. 'I'he lower ends of the-quills 48 are enlarged and shaped to provide bevel gears 53 which mesh with bevel gears 64 formed on the inner ends of two horizontally aligned hollow shafts r quills 65. llach quill 65 is rotatably supported in an inner bearing 51 and an outerbearing G8, these bearings being mounted in the lower portion of the housing i0. A horizontal drive shaft 10 extends through the two quills 85 and is slidably keyed thereto. This shaft is driven by a suitable source of power (not showr) The operation of the invention will pow be apparent from the above disclosure. The shaft 'I0 drives the quills 65, which in turn transmit power through the gears 54 and 63 to the vertical quills 48. The-rotation of the vertical quills is transmitted to the rolls I2 through the medium of the coupling members 59, spindles 80, and coupling members B. Slight horizontal adjustments of the chocks Il, to vary the spacing of the rolls, can be effected by means of the screws 30, such movements merely resulting in a slight change in the angular position of the spindles 50 without affecting the transmission of power to the rolls. Similarly, independent vertical adjustments oi each chock Il can be obtained by means of the wedges 2i to bring the two roll grooves I 9 into correct registration, such adjustments likewise having no effect on the driving of the rolls, since the coupling members 56 are tree to slide vero! power can be applied to the rolls, and since the driving mechanism is entirely below the rolls they are more accessible and the entire machine is more stable. The skirts Il cooperate with the ilanges 5I to exclude water and scale from the bearings and the driving gears.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Paten is:

l. Driving means for a pair of vertical rolls which are independently adjustable horizontally in the vertical plane deflnedby their axes comprising a coupling member mounted on the lower end of each roll, a vertical rotatable quill beneath each roll, ,an upper and a lower bearing for each' quill, means to rotate said quills, a coupling member on the lower portion oi.' each`quill. an upright spindle extending through each quill, each of said spindles having a universal connection at its ends with the corresponding coupling members, whereby the said adjustment ot the rolls may be accomplished without disturbing the quills, and a depending annular skirt on each of the mst-mentioned coupling members arranged to form a shield for the said bearings therebeneath.

2. Driving means for a pair of vertical rolls which are independently adjustable horizontally in the vertical plane dened by their axes comprising a coupling member mounted on the lower end of each roll, a vertical quill rotatably supported beneath each roll, the lower end of each quill having a bevel gear thereon, a coupling member mounted on the lower portion of each quill, an upright spindle extending through each quill, each of said spindles having a universal connection at its end's with the corresponding coupling members, whereby the said adjustment of the rolls may be accomplished without disturbing the tically relative to the spindles Il by reason of the quills, a pair of horizontally aligned bevel gears in mesh with the mst-mentioned gears, and a horizontal shaft connected to said aligned gears to drive the same.

3. A rolling mill comprising a stationary frame, a housing supported on the frame, a pair ci vertical rolls mounted within the housing and independently adjustable relative to the housing horizontally in the vertical plane donned by their axes, means to slide the housing horizontally on the frame inthe said vertical plane, a vertical quill rotatably supported inthe housing beneath each roll, the lower end of eachquill having a bevel gear thereon, an upright spindle extending through each quill, means providing a universal connection between the lower end of each spindle and the lower'portion o! the corresponding quill, means providing a universal connection between the upper end of each spindle and the lower end oi' the corresponding roll, whereby the said adjustment of the rolls may be accomplished without disturbing the quills, a pair of horizontally aligned bevel gears rotatably supported in the housing and meshing with the first mentioned gears, and a horizontal shaft extending through said aligned gears and slidably keyed thereto to drive the same.

` JOSEPH M. OMALLEY. 

